Background Checks for Staffing Agencies

When it comes to staffing agencies and temporary workers (or “temps”), to whom does the responsibility of vetting a candidate fall? The staffing agency needs to make sure it is hiring skilled and qualified people so it can serve its clients effectively. When it comes to checking a candidate for things like criminal history, are staffing agencies expected to run background checks? Should the businesses that engage the services of the staffing agency run their own background checks on temp workers?

Every company has its own standards for what is acceptable in a candidate—and those expectations often shift depending on the job—so there is an argument for companies handling the checks on their end. In this white paper, we will look at background checks and vetting responsibilities from multiple angles.

The Question of Responsibility

Who is responsible for the background check: the staffing agency or the employer? This question has been posed time and time again when businesses have relied on staffing agencies to fill temporary or emergency roles within their organizations. The most important consideration is transparency. Regardless of whether a staffing agency vets its employees, it is essential for clients of that agency to know what the vetting policy is, so they can plan accordingly.Over the years, it has become something of an expectation that staffing agencies will screen their workers thoroughly. Many staffing agencies today do run background checks on their workers—and many businesses that rely on the services of staffing agencies have started to take background checks for granted. When a company hires a temp worker through a staffing agency, there may be an assumption from the employer that the agency has already vetted the employee thoroughly.

This point has two areas of significance. First, not running background checks on temporary workers could damage a staffing agency’s image. Skipping the background check can come across to prospective clients as a form of cost-cutting. No staffing agency wants to have a reputation for prioritizing cost over safety and exemplary service. As such, more staffing agencies are doubling down on worker background checks to stay competitive.